Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A joint working group has been created to develop research laboratories and centers in the agricultural region within the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

According to experts, the PRC and the IRP have great potential in the following areas of cooperation.

1. Innovation in the seed industry. The average wheat yield in the IRP is only 3 tons per hectare. This can be greatly improved by using pest resistant seed varieties. Pakistani farmers expect Beijing to provide seeds of Chinese hybrid wheat and look forward to further cooperation to expand the sown area in 2020-2021. Also, genetically modified Chinese varieties of cotton, sugarcane and potatoes can be used for their cultivation in the IRP.

2. Modern agricultural technologies. Water use efficiency in Pakistan is relatively low. China has a variety of smart drip irrigation technologies suitable for growing crops, and their transfer to Pakistani farmers could play an important role in improving agricultural production efficiency.

Agriculture is the backbone of the IRP economy and constitutes the bulk of the national economy. Its contribution to GDP is 19.5%, and 42% of the country’s entire labor force is employed in the agricultural sector.

The development of Sino-Pakistani cooperation in the processing of crop and livestock products is expected. Chinese investors are also considering financing the establishment of IRP meat processing plants with the aim of exporting products abroad.

Today, agricultural products account for 18% of the export of IRP, of which 8% goes to the PRC. Imports of agricultural and processed products of the IRP account for only 0.4% of the global imports of agricultural products of the PRC.

In general, according to experts, cooperation between Pakistan and China in the field of agriculture has great prospects and will contribute to:

a) increasing the productivity of agricultural crops grown in Pakistan;

b) increasing the efficiency of agricultural production in the country;

c) an increase in the supply of Pakistani agricultural products to foreign markets.